Process of heating air.



. I 'PATENTBD DEC. 13,1904. H. PAULING. v V PROCESS OF HEATING AIR. APPLICATION rlnizp ue. 12. 1902'.

N0 MODEL.

' UNITED STATES Y Patented n eeefiiiier 13, 1904.

A N T HARRY BAULING, OF, BRAND-AU, "AUSTRIA-HUNGARY:

PROCESS OF HEATINGIAIR. I

SPECIFICATION forming part 6f Letters mea t. 777,485, dated December 13,

Application filed Augugt 12, 1902 To all whom *it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY PAULI G, director ofiminesfla citizen of the Kingdom of Saxony. and a resident of Brandau," Bohemia, Aus tria-Hupgary, (whose post-oflijce' address is house No. 200,) have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes of Heating Air, Gases' and the Like, ing is a specification, I I I 1 My invention relates to a process for heating gases or gas mixtures, such as-"air to a of which'thefollow high temperature with a View to dissociate on f I I bastion of the carbon electrodes is o,

combinethem and to obtain in this'wayoth'er useful products, such as oxids. and the like.

My process relates in particular to forming oxids of nitrogen.

The process consists in conducting the gases to be heated alternately from both sides through a chamber provided with'a suitable heat-generator, said chamber being situated between two 'heat-regenerators, the heat imparted to the gases first by the heat-generator alone and then by the latter and one of the heat-regenerators, andso-on, being after the reaction almost in' its entirety given ofi to the heat-regenerator which succeeds the heating-chamber. I

By this process. an exceptionally high temperature equal to that of the heat-generator is produced after a short period of working throughout the heating-chamber inclosing the heat-generator. Fluctuations of temperature in this chamber, particularly in proximity to the heat-generator, are entirely avoided, and the loss of heat'is so small that when the tem-' perature in the chamber has been brought to that of the heat-generator the temperature will remain almost constant for a considerable length of time', -'even if the supply of heat from the generator is discontinued. I

Any source of heat or heat-generator can be used, the best adapted being, however, the electric are produced by means of carbon electrodes, the combustion of the carbon electrodes being accelerated by the great accumulation of heatin the heating-chamber and the a heat resulting from this assisting in the heating of the gases. In this case the quantity of gases alternately supplied is preferably pro-' fth'e' air which reaches theele'ctr peratureof the fresh current of ,equal'to that offthe heat-generator; 1 Then ternately reversed-directions throughthe ber has been increased again by the inethdd be converted into nitric acid any Seria1No.'119,391. (No man :f

. ortionat'e to the quantity of carbon eva a 5o rated.;%" I I Primarily a coldjcurrent'of atmospheric air or othersuitable substance'is introduced from outside and after being'he'ated byjtheiarc'fis caused to pass into a I heat regenerator' ran'ged behind the furnace. 1 This heat-re erator withdraws from the'fa" derived from the electric;are. the direction of theair-cfirrent r'i already powerfully heated, SO. C

.a ly accelerated, and the heat resulting from assists in increasing-the production (of heat at approximately-the temperature of "electric arc.- The'increased quantity of beat is then given off in the second heat-regenera tor and. serves when the direction'of i theair current is again reversed to increase he'temf gas} The-reversaliscontinued until thete p ai ture of those-parts of the heat-regeneratorls nearestthefurnace isequal or approximately I thereupon the current has been interrupted- "and the electrodes withdrawn.,'-so that, they no longer extend into the furnace,-'any,suit able gas, or air or the like can be driven in a nace for any reaction until the requisite big temperature 'no longer exists, and when the temperature of the furnace or heating chainkj a described the process can be repeated indefijnitelyr In particular the. oxygen and the n trogen of the air may be made to combine? forming under the conditions stated nitrog dioxidjv The resulting nitrogen .dioxid manner.

In a cqpending eppiicittlom Serial: 119,392, filed A useiatieoa, I have- 5 scribed a specifie'method of making nitmii acid from nitrogen dioxid. I a

Any suitable apparatus can of course'he used efor performing this process; Oneformiofka'pe paratusfor the purpose is dia' illustrated in cross-section thejianueggd furnace and after leaving the latter to pass through one of the said heat regenerators. It is alsoimportant that each of the regenerators is divided into several compartments and that the cross-section of the latter decreases in cor- .-respondence with the distance from the furnace and in proportion to the progressive cooling and the'd'ecreasing velocity of the gases or air coming from the furnace. This arrangement possesses, among others, the advantage that when the gas or air current is conducted through the apparatus the heat of the said current is entirely absorbed by the heat-regenerator, so that no loss of heat, or only a very slight loss, takes place. I

v The drawingrepresentsa section of an apparatus by which the process may be carried The apparatus illustrated is made of the best fireproof material, adapted to withstand a temperature of up to 2,500 and comprises an electric furnace 1 contiguous to the upper parts of two heat-regenerators 2 and 3, which latter are separated from each other by a thick bridge 4. The source of heat is formed by a suitable number of carbon electrodes 5, which extend transversely into the furnace; but any other arrangement ormeans can of course be used Conduits 6 and 7 lead into the lower parts of the -respective he'atregenerators, through which conduits gas, air, or the like alternately enters and passes out. Each heatregenerator is preferably divided into a suitable number of compartments 8, 9, l0, and 11,

the effective cross-section of which decreases toward the conduitsfi and 7. Each of these compartments may be provided with a trellis of fireproof material to absorb heat from the current of gas or air which passes through it. The drawing indicates the courses traveled by the gas or air current in the directions of the arrows I 'and II, respectively, from its entrance through the conduits 6 and 7 to its exit through the said conduits.

It will be understood that by passing the heated air through electric-arcs I utilize the heat from that pontionof the air'mixture of which only a small'portion of the nitrogen has been converted into dioxid of nitrogen.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature (if my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is The process of heating airand other gases source of ,heat and regen erators, maintaining a temperature within said regenerators and at the source of heat approximately equal to or in excess of 2,200 centigrade.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

v, HARRY PAULING. Witnesses: 1

HENRY HASIEB WOLDEMAB. HAUPT. 

